The usage of best practices and procedures in the database community

Database management has an important role to play in the management of data assets which are at the heart of every organization. In a fast moving technological era, where data is rapidly expanding, understanding the current best practices and procedures is important for continuous improvement. This paper investigates how databases are actually administered and identifies what practices and procedures are utilized throughout the database lifecycle. The paper highlights the demographics of people who manage database systems and the diverse requirements of database systems given the wide range of software and hardware available. The results of this paper show the breadth of issues relevant to database management. The paper concludes by showing where existing practice and procedures are not optimal, and by highlighting the complexities in the field.